I would wait till mid April, early May on zinnias,marigolds,cosmos,sunflowers and daturas..poppies like a bit of cold they are fine now bachelor buttons are fine now..maybe someone else can help u with the others the amaranth and nicotiana I waited till mid april last yr also, not sure of the rest I would only be guessing,Im sure someone else can answer this with more info...

I would winter-sow your daturas now---they're often slow and erratic germinators. Everything else, wait.

Jodie - I WS bachelor buttons, cosmos & nasturtiums last year. The only one I noted on my sprout chart was bachelor buttons which I WS on Feb 27. They sprouted March 19. I think you might need to wait a little longer on some of those as Tom said because there are a few names I see on your list that don't like any cold at all. Did you check the FAQs to see which should wait until a little closer to warm weather? I think I recall seeing something about it on the FAQs.

As for reseeding annuals that will sprout on their own when the light/temp/moisture is right, larkspur is one I've seen mentioned on this forum as is sweet peas. Evidently both can handle the intermittent Z5 freezes/frosts that occur between now and late May. I actually WS tomatoes around this time last year and the seeds were smart enough not to sprout until it got considerably warmer!!!

Another thing that happens with continued gardening is you find out your yard will have micro climates.

I am in zone 5a borderline 4b, and I have 4 o'clocks, snapdragons, and cosmos, to name a few more-tender annuals for my zone, reseed in certain parts of my garden--if the mulch and snow cover are enough. I even have three snapdragon plants that have perennialized for three years now. We'll see what this spring brings. I have a friend three blocks away who has cleome and morning glories reseed like crazy. Mine? Nothin'. It's fun when some of these plants beat the zone odds.

I have one worry about planting Brazilian vervain last year, which many winter sowers warned about the wicked reseeding habit; the seed packet said so, too. However, I thought my cold winter zone would not allow for the seed survival, since it is an annual in my zone. I will see--or pay, as the case may be.

cheers,
Norabelle

If you have a very high soil fertility, a lot of plants will re-seed! Trees, seed in my little spot.

For me out of your list I have dones the following already

amaranth/amaranthus, petunias, impatients, larkspur, lobelia, monkey flower, torenias, nemesia, nicotiana, pansies, salvias, daturas,

But I am getting ready to do the snapdragons and 4 oclocks this week. I would off od the others for a while Cosmos and zinnias are two of the only things that I can direct sow with no worries. Though in my area they are safe after mother's day to direct sow.

Paula

I'm in NE Ohio zone 5/6 - I generally wait to sow most of my annuals until the end of April beginning of May. By that time in my area we are still getting frosts and the off and on dip below 30, but the seeds are at no threat of freezing. They take a week or more usually to germinate, and you really don't have to worry about those frosts or dips until they have sprouted. Usually by the second week of May we are done with frosts, but not always, so I sow these seeds being prepared to blanket or bring inside in the case of a frost or low temps.

I suppose there is no way to know what annuals reseed in your area if you're new to gardening without asking around! ;) As you garden more you will find little surprises each spring...seeds you didn't know or think would reseed that did.

In my area, poppies, amaranth, bachelor buttons, sweet peas, snap dragons and morning glories are all seeds that I know firsthand reseed. I would dare to say even that sunflowers would be fine, they are hardy and when not gobbled up by birds in the fall they even reseed here, but I would still protect them as best you can from frost or snow. I have killed zinnias EVERY year by sowing them too early! LOL* They are very tender, and the slightest dip down low takes them out once they've germinated. I will hold off on those for a few more weeks, as well as cosmos.

That's my experience anyhow! ;)